Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / O-Zone Podcast: P Logan Cooke

Transcript

O-Zone Podcast: P Logan Cooke · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

0:08
Speaker 1: Welcome to the ozone Podcast presented by by Star Credit
0:13
Speaker 1: Union with Jaguars senior writer John Osan. I'm excited about
0:17
Speaker 1: this week's guest because, you know, he plays the position
0:20
Speaker 1: that we don't talk to him a whole lot, but
0:23
Speaker 1: right now he's playing at positions so well, they's almost
0:27
Speaker 1: forced our hand. You know, it's Jaguars punter Logan Cook
0:31
Speaker 1: who is turning in or has turned into one of
0:33
Speaker 1: the best punters in the NFL. Logan, first of all,
0:36
Speaker 1: thanks for joining us. I appreciate Oh yeah, I appreciate
0:38
Speaker 1: you having me do this a whole lot. Well, it's uh,
0:42
Speaker 1: it's probably I don't know if it's prejudice or just uh,
0:46
Speaker 1: you know, not in our view. But all of a sudden,
0:50
Speaker 1: I look up and you've got fifty two point four
0:53
Speaker 1: yards seven point eight net, leading the league in both categories. Um,
1:00
Speaker 1: did you expect this? Are you peeking towards this? I
1:03
Speaker 1: guess what I'm saying is you follow your career, you
1:07
Speaker 1: you know where you are. Have you been building towards
1:09
Speaker 1: this steadily? Yeah? I think, uh, even the past my
1:14
Speaker 1: first three seasons, I think that, um, you know, progressing
1:17
Speaker 1: throughout the year and then and in the season I
1:19
Speaker 1: would get a lot more comfortable, and um we ended
1:21
Speaker 1: up still turning in as a team. I really use
1:23
Speaker 1: a net uh mainly as a category you want to
1:25
Speaker 1: look at, because that's the whole, entire point team as
1:27
Speaker 1: a unit. And there's plenty of time, especially Week one
1:30
Speaker 1: where I didn't hit a great ball but they bailed
1:32
Speaker 1: me out. Um So, ned, I think there's there's times
1:36
Speaker 1: past three years we ended you know very well. But um,
1:38
Speaker 1: I think starting was always a thing for me that
1:40
Speaker 1: I just had, you know, kind of getting a groove.
1:42
Speaker 1: But for some reason we started in a groove kind
1:44
Speaker 1: of this year. So hopefully we can keep riding that
1:46
Speaker 1: now fifty two point four yards Again, I'm an old man, logan,
1:50
Speaker 1: I can remember when you know, forty two or forty
1:53
Speaker 1: three led the league. Um, you know, it's astronomical now
1:57
Speaker 1: compared you know when I was. Why do you think
2:01
Speaker 1: that is our guys just better now? Or are you
2:04
Speaker 1: better athletes? Is it technique? Uh? You know, you know,
2:08
Speaker 1: because it's mind boggling how much further guys kick the
2:10
Speaker 1: ball out? Right? Yeah? I don't know, man, I think
2:12
Speaker 1: it's accumulation of everything. It's accumulation of UM guys being
2:16
Speaker 1: better athletes. I think, Um, I think that's really something
2:19
Speaker 1: you see in punters especially, even kickers too, and long
2:22
Speaker 1: snappers as well. But the special special teams categories kind
2:25
Speaker 1: of turned into a lot more athletic guys. You look
2:28
Speaker 1: at some of the guys are in the league that
2:29
Speaker 1: can sling the football, like the Johnny Heckers and stuff
2:31
Speaker 1: like those are kind of the guys that I want
2:33
Speaker 1: to emulate and be, you know, be that guy. I
2:34
Speaker 1: want to be the guy that you know, every time
2:36
Speaker 1: we play someone that special teams coordinators talking about, hey,
2:39
Speaker 1: you know, we gotta be on our toes, this, this
2:41
Speaker 1: and that. UM. But you know, I think it's probably
2:43
Speaker 1: a lot to do with being more athletic and stuff.
2:45
Speaker 1: And UM, hopefully I've kind of fit into that category
2:48
Speaker 1: a little bit. Now, you completed some passes. I'm sure
2:51
Speaker 1: you know the stat but what do you what is
2:53
Speaker 1: your stat line as a passer? Um? I know it.
2:56
Speaker 1: We're three for three, that's all I know. So hopefully
2:59
Speaker 1: we can get some more. Did you don't have? But
3:00
Speaker 1: you got to stay? Yeah, you don't forget those well,
3:04
Speaker 1: and I guess if you go three for or if
3:07
Speaker 1: you go over for two. You're not getting anymore right, No, yeah,
3:09
Speaker 1: you're your first to your first one kind of termins it.
3:12
Speaker 1: But if you don't, if you go out for on
3:13
Speaker 1: the second one, you're not You're not throwing another one.
3:15
Speaker 1: There's a lot of pressure on those balls. That's Uh,
3:18
Speaker 1: where are you better? I guess you mentioned it, But
3:21
Speaker 1: is it just consistency now or are you just better
3:27
Speaker 1: overall than you were you maybe eighteen or nineteen. Um,
3:31
Speaker 1: we gotta remember this week too. You know, there's a
3:33
Speaker 1: lot of good punners out there who have only had
3:36
Speaker 1: you know, inside the twenty. You look at the point
3:38
Speaker 1: of we played last week. Sam Martin one of the
3:39
Speaker 1: still one of the best punterers in the league now,
3:41
Speaker 1: but um, like he he stayed in midfield the whole time,
3:44
Speaker 1: and so his stat line is gonna be a little
3:46
Speaker 1: shorter when it comes to the averages and the nets
3:48
Speaker 1: and the inside the twenties will be more so. Um,
3:50
Speaker 1: the way I kind of look at it, if week
3:52
Speaker 1: ten you're you're up here, then you can start kind
3:54
Speaker 1: of feeling I mean, you still need to stay within
3:56
Speaker 1: your head, but you can start you know, saying, hey,
3:58
Speaker 1: are our units doing pretty good? You know, Um, that's
4:00
Speaker 1: something we look at as a unit. You know, right
4:02
Speaker 1: now we're kind of keeping our head down and grinding.
4:04
Speaker 1: But when it comes later in the season, then we
4:05
Speaker 1: can kind of look up and enjoy it. But um, yeah,
4:09
Speaker 1: and I assume you take pride in you know, it's
4:11
Speaker 1: not like you're just back there kicking the ball as
4:13
Speaker 1: far as you can every uh punt. There's different situations
4:17
Speaker 1: so much I assume you take a lot of pride
4:19
Speaker 1: in being able to handle whatever they ask you to do. Yeah,
4:22
Speaker 1: and um, you know, coach Warrenson um is super super
4:25
Speaker 1: open to let us do we want to do as
4:26
Speaker 1: far as direction wise right the win. And there's a
4:28
Speaker 1: lot of different punts we hit. You know, you might
4:30
Speaker 1: see the banana bar ever now. And then those are
4:32
Speaker 1: things I learned once I got in the league. Um,
4:34
Speaker 1: I mean I did play in the SEC, but the
4:36
Speaker 1: returners in the league are just I mean different breeds.
4:38
Speaker 1: So the Tyreek kills Mcole Harman's those kind of guys
4:41
Speaker 1: like you gotta come up with something too, especially we're
4:43
Speaker 1: playing a guy like that. They don't need to touch
4:45
Speaker 1: the ball of the entire game. So for me, I
4:47
Speaker 1: gotta find a way that hey, I can hit this
4:49
Speaker 1: banana ball out of bounds, or that he's not gonna
4:51
Speaker 1: want to catch it. And there's a whole lot more
4:53
Speaker 1: to punting than I knew in college. Um, just kind
4:55
Speaker 1: of getting in the league now that I've really learned
4:57
Speaker 1: and got a lot more comfortable with it, said, not
5:00
Speaker 1: just going back there and kicking as far as you can.
5:02
Speaker 1: You know you're out of the league if you try
5:03
Speaker 1: to do that. So the Jaguars this offseason they approached
5:07
Speaker 1: you and and you got a second contract done. What
5:11
Speaker 1: did that mean to you? Because that's not a given, No,
5:13
Speaker 1: it's not. Um, it's definitely a blessing. I mean it's
5:16
Speaker 1: it's one I didn't think I'd be in the NFL
5:18
Speaker 1: in general, even after my last college game. I was
5:20
Speaker 1: ready to go to work and and and do that
5:23
Speaker 1: kind of thing. And then so one that was a
5:25
Speaker 1: blessing to be in the league and how to be
5:26
Speaker 1: able to keep playing and do that man for my
5:28
Speaker 1: family and just you know, being able to live the
5:30
Speaker 1: life I want to live. Um, it's incredible and it's
5:32
Speaker 1: something I never thought i'd be doing. But I'm here
5:34
Speaker 1: and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. Where were
5:37
Speaker 1: you headed if you didn't think it was football? What
5:39
Speaker 1: would you be doing if it wasn't football? Um, well,
5:42
Speaker 1: that's a great conversation. Um, I really don't know something.
5:46
Speaker 1: I my degree was in the sports administration field, but
5:48
Speaker 1: I think i'd be want to do something the hunting
5:50
Speaker 1: industry right now, So, um, that's probably what i'd be doing.
5:53
Speaker 1: I gotta ask you in the media guy, I think
5:55
Speaker 1: I've talked to you about this before, and if I have,
5:58
Speaker 1: my apologies. The turkey call business, Um, it takes me
6:03
Speaker 1: through that. How how big is that we're doing? Well?
6:07
Speaker 1: That was the thing we we had deer in college.
6:09
Speaker 1: It was me and a few buddies, a couple of
6:10
Speaker 1: my roommates. Actually, we had a little shop in our
6:12
Speaker 1: um in our backyard, and one of my guys, uh,
6:16
Speaker 1: one of my roommates was a forestry were both of
6:18
Speaker 1: our forestrym major. Just one of them picked up a
6:19
Speaker 1: lathe I think from his grandpa's shop or something and
6:22
Speaker 1: started turning some calls and um said, hey, we can
6:25
Speaker 1: kind of do something with this, and so we just
6:27
Speaker 1: kind of jumped on it and a few years in
6:28
Speaker 1: college we did it and made a little cash and
6:30
Speaker 1: it was you know, it was a fun little thing
6:32
Speaker 1: to do. And then when I got here, obviously I
6:33
Speaker 1: don't have the time to keep that going. But um,
6:35
Speaker 1: me and my wife did start a show with a
6:37
Speaker 1: hunt show with Massioak this year, um a little mostly
6:40
Speaker 1: just turkey hunts and stuff, just kind of document in
6:42
Speaker 1: places we were going throughout the country. It was pretty cool.
6:44
Speaker 1: It was a fun experience. It's it's a little work,
6:46
Speaker 1: but um, you know, that's just something I have a
6:48
Speaker 1: lot of passion for me and her both. Um So
6:50
Speaker 1: being able to do that was pretty cool. And obviously
6:53
Speaker 1: the football, um, I guess the aspect we have now
6:56
Speaker 1: football kind of helps promote it. Now let's get a
6:59
Speaker 1: little shout out. She's going through a lot right now,
7:02
Speaker 1: your wife Mary, and she's about three weeks out from
7:05
Speaker 1: the first child, right, yep, that's it, So it's getting down.
7:09
Speaker 1: Do we know yet? Boy? Girl? Are we there? We don't.
7:12
Speaker 1: That was kind of her idea too. It was, you know,
7:14
Speaker 1: I didn't really care we found out or not, but
7:16
Speaker 1: to start off, she didn't want to find out, so
7:18
Speaker 1: I was kind of on board with it. And then
7:20
Speaker 1: I think about three weeks after our first doctor visit.
7:23
Speaker 1: She was like, Okay, let's find out. I'm like, well, no,
7:25
Speaker 1: we know were started it now, so that's exciting too.
7:28
Speaker 1: But she's killing it. So I'm guessing you don't get
7:30
Speaker 1: a lot of sympathy when you come home these days. No,
7:32
Speaker 1: I don't. I had a little cold a couple weeks
7:34
Speaker 1: ago and I didn't. I didn't even ask for sympathy.
7:38
Speaker 1: I got you. When did this star look? I mean, uh,
7:42
Speaker 1: in terms of your punting, did you always know? Did
7:44
Speaker 1: you start in high school or how did this start?
7:47
Speaker 1: And when did you know you were gonna be good
7:48
Speaker 1: at it? Well? Um, I think as a kid, I
7:51
Speaker 1: got a picture for when I was probably three years old.
7:54
Speaker 1: My Grandpa's holding football and I'm kicking it. So I
7:56
Speaker 1: kinda ever since I was little, I've always been kicking,
7:58
Speaker 1: kicking footballs. But even on the playground and stuff, I
8:01
Speaker 1: was probably the annoying kid that wanted to kick it. Um.
8:03
Speaker 1: But I was also always the quarterback, you know, on
8:05
Speaker 1: the playground, so that was kind of more the PATHOU
8:07
Speaker 1: was taken. And I think once I got into close
8:10
Speaker 1: to high school, I figured out that I could really
8:12
Speaker 1: ride the punt train, and you know, you know, make
8:14
Speaker 1: it somewhere and get to college and be able to
8:15
Speaker 1: live live my dream easier than actually being a quarterback.
8:18
Speaker 1: So now I should know this too. Uh full ride
8:21
Speaker 1: right out of high school, which doesn't always happen either. See,
8:24
Speaker 1: you you were good from the start. You knew you
8:27
Speaker 1: had it. It was just a matter of you know,
8:30
Speaker 1: but you didn't know you were going to make it
8:31
Speaker 1: in the league. No, I didn't. Um, I knew just
8:34
Speaker 1: because there would be some scouts at practice and stuff
8:37
Speaker 1: my senior year, UM watching the punt period and that
8:40
Speaker 1: stuff that uses the scouts to go over there and
8:42
Speaker 1: talk to their buddies and not watch the period, so
8:44
Speaker 1: they would watch. And I had a good long snapper
8:46
Speaker 1: in college as well, so um, I didn't even know
8:49
Speaker 1: if they're watching me or him. But um, even man
8:52
Speaker 1: going into workouts, I only had a couple of workouts,
8:54
Speaker 1: didn't go to UM any games, you know, senior bowls,
8:57
Speaker 1: didn't go to the Combine, so I really wasn't thinking
8:59
Speaker 1: of about the word about it. And then I had
9:01
Speaker 1: obviously did good enough for a a couple of workouts in
9:03
Speaker 1: pro days where I kind of started getting some you know,
9:06
Speaker 1: some some calls. So that was neat. So how do
9:08
Speaker 1: you you know, in the off season, Um, how do
9:12
Speaker 1: you try to get better at this? Are you on
9:15
Speaker 1: a high school field punting in the off season or
9:18
Speaker 1: what's your offseason routine? And how do you focus on
9:20
Speaker 1: stuff you're trying to get better at. Man, I've plunted
9:23
Speaker 1: in high school field, up putting in the backyards, um,
9:26
Speaker 1: soccer fields, baseball fields, pretty much wherever I can get um,
9:30
Speaker 1: because I'm back and forth between here and home a
9:32
Speaker 1: good bit. So, but that's pretty much it, you know, especially,
9:34
Speaker 1: I don't really start kicking a whole lot until probably,
9:37
Speaker 1: um gets closer to March. Um, my rookie year. I
9:41
Speaker 1: started kicking pretty early, probably February. And then I talked
9:44
Speaker 1: to a few veteran guys and learned that's not really
9:46
Speaker 1: a thing because if you want to do this for
9:48
Speaker 1: a long time, you can't be kicking tent out of
9:50
Speaker 1: you know, twelve months. Um. So really it's just a
9:53
Speaker 1: consistency thing, and you want to take a few months
9:55
Speaker 1: off kind of a picture throwing kind of the same
9:58
Speaker 1: same concept. And um, but yeah, consistency, you said, that's
10:01
Speaker 1: really kind of the main thing you want to focus on.
10:03
Speaker 1: And then I obviously try to get better at something
10:06
Speaker 1: each year. You know, so you're also a holder, um,
10:11
Speaker 1: always been a holder or yeah, um through college. I
10:16
Speaker 1: remember in high school teaching my holder how to hold. UM,
10:19
Speaker 1: So that was kind of Uh, I knew how obviously
10:22
Speaker 1: I couldn't hold in high school because I was kicking,
10:23
Speaker 1: and then um, college and I think my freshman year
10:26
Speaker 1: back held and then UM I took his job the
10:29
Speaker 1: next year or so. That's kind of how I like
10:30
Speaker 1: to say it. What's the hardest part about that? Um,
10:35
Speaker 1: thinking you have an unbelievable kicker sitting there and if
10:37
Speaker 1: I mess something up, then he most likely doesn't make
10:40
Speaker 1: the field goal. You know. Um, you know, take me
10:45
Speaker 1: through this. You kicked off the last couple of years.
10:48
Speaker 1: But is it a hard fast rule that when Josh
10:51
Speaker 1: is playing you don't kick off or how does that work?
10:54
Speaker 1: Is it? Sort of? Honestly, it's been kind of different.
10:57
Speaker 1: I just kind of sit on, g went on. Oh,
10:59
Speaker 1: that's kind of how I feel it comes. Kicking off,
11:00
Speaker 1: just kicking, you know, one or two during the week,
11:02
Speaker 1: just kind of stay fresh because UM, I think I
11:05
Speaker 1: came from my rookie year he had an injury or something.
11:07
Speaker 1: But I came in and kicked off and then um
11:10
Speaker 1: sometimes I think my second season maybe we split reps.
11:12
Speaker 1: And last year obviously he had an injury, so um,
11:15
Speaker 1: I don't know. It's just worked out the whe Every
11:16
Speaker 1: year I ended up kicking off some and so I'm
11:18
Speaker 1: ready whenever it comes. Maybe flying on their mactacle is
11:21
Speaker 1: that emotion? I mean I told the same kickers before,
11:26
Speaker 1: kickers and punters, and obviously the punting and kicking motion
11:29
Speaker 1: are so dramatically different. When you're trying to kick fuel goals.
11:32
Speaker 1: Is that a different Uh? Is it tricky when you're
11:36
Speaker 1: trying to kick off to also punt or is that
11:38
Speaker 1: something you can do? Could sit there? I told you
11:40
Speaker 1: guys who struggle with it. Yeah, now you're right. Um,
11:43
Speaker 1: you look at a lot of kickers who obviously have
11:46
Speaker 1: coming and try to back up punting. They're really gonna
11:48
Speaker 1: be swinging across the ball. And because that's more of
11:50
Speaker 1: the kicking than nights for kicking motion, the same with
11:52
Speaker 1: you watching me kick off, and a lot of punters
11:54
Speaker 1: throughout to leave the actually kick off when they kick,
11:57
Speaker 1: you know, kick the ball to kickoff, they swing more
12:00
Speaker 1: right like they would punt. Whether you see like a
12:02
Speaker 1: you know, a field goal kicker kicking off, it's more
12:04
Speaker 1: of him cutting across the ball because that's some more
12:06
Speaker 1: natural motion for him. So it is. But you know,
12:08
Speaker 1: if for me, I feel like when I'm kicking off,
12:10
Speaker 1: I'm a little more looser throughout the game because if
12:12
Speaker 1: you're not putting your most likely kicking off, um, so
12:15
Speaker 1: you can kind of stay loose throughout the game a
12:17
Speaker 1: little easier. Is that something you have to drill a
12:20
Speaker 1: whole lot if you not really man honestly, honestly kick
12:24
Speaker 1: off a sea ball, hit ball as hard as you can,
12:26
Speaker 1: and that's that's pretty much it with a little direction. Okay.
12:29
Speaker 1: The last thing we do on this we call it
12:30
Speaker 1: the ozone five five. It's five quick questions. We have
12:37
Speaker 1: some fun with it. Logan Cook, what's your last binge watch?
12:41
Speaker 1: Binge wash Bloodline was probably my last games watch. It
12:44
Speaker 1: was pretty good. The last song you heard in the
12:47
Speaker 1: car on the way in this morning, oh this morning,
12:51
Speaker 1: I don't know. I was slipping between country and some
12:53
Speaker 1: worship music I can't remember. It was probably a ren
12:56
Speaker 1: collective song, Resurrection Day. I think that was my my
12:59
Speaker 1: last want to listen to. Best sport other than football, baseball.
13:03
Speaker 1: I was. I was a good picture. I wouldn't say
13:05
Speaker 1: I can hit the ball great, but I pitched in
13:07
Speaker 1: college for half a year. That's right, that's right. My
13:09
Speaker 1: bad got you didn't make it. So apparently I wasn't
13:11
Speaker 1: gonna know your go to breakfast food breakfast, um, big
13:16
Speaker 1: pancake guy, chocolate chip pancakes to fried eggs, or if
13:20
Speaker 1: I'm going to waffle house, waffle House, I'm getting, well,
13:22
Speaker 1: I'm getting the All Star. I'm getting chocolate chips in
13:25
Speaker 1: the waffles, fried eggs, bacon, and hash browns covered. You
13:30
Speaker 1: knocked that out of the park. That's a wheelhouse question
13:31
Speaker 1: for you that several times. Who's the person in your
13:35
Speaker 1: life most responsible for you being here? Um? My dad,
13:39
Speaker 1: for sure. My my My dad was super involved because
13:45
Speaker 1: I wanted him to be um and also because he
13:48
Speaker 1: wanted to be too. But um, I remember I was
13:50
Speaker 1: talking when I was probably seventh or eighth grade. I
13:52
Speaker 1: told him I wanted to play play college and uh
13:55
Speaker 1: a little D D one football and he told me,
13:57
Speaker 1: you know how hard it be, and we kind of
13:58
Speaker 1: had that talk, and it is a seventh grade kid.
14:01
Speaker 1: I was just like, yeah, for sure, I'll work, you know,
14:03
Speaker 1: and then, um but he he kept me accountable. And
14:05
Speaker 1: um that was at all aspects baseball, football, basketball, everything,
14:09
Speaker 1: um so especially punning. He spent many long trips from
14:12
Speaker 1: me going to kicking camps and you know, obviously shagging
14:15
Speaker 1: balls as well. Got you, logan, Cook, I hope this
14:18
Speaker 1: isn't the last time we do this. I really enjoyed it.
14:21
Speaker 1: I think the fans will enjoy it. Good luck the
14:23
Speaker 1: rest of the way and we'll see you soon. And
14:24
Speaker 1: thank you for being on Neil his own podcast. Yes, sir,
14:26
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.